Soy Has Antimicrobial Benefits for Food-borne Illnesses

Every now and then we experience gut problems in the form of diarrhea and indigestion.

Sometimes these symptoms are due to food-borne illnesses. Bacterial infections affecting the gut may require the use of antibiotics and this may lessen our normal microbial flora and lead to more gut problems. This is why people are continuously seeking for new natural ways on how to treat these infections.

However there is good news. According to a latest study, Soy isoflavones and peptides may stop the growth of harmful microorganisms that may cause food-borne diseases. Soybean derivatives are already a mainstay in food merchandise, including cooking oils, cheeses, ice cream, margarine, meals spreads, canned foods and baked goods.

Using soy isoflavones and peptides to lessen microbial contamination would improve the food industry, which presently makes use of artificial additives to protect meals.

Soy and Foodborne Illnesses

University of Guelph researchers used microfluidics and high-throughput screening to run millions of checks in a brief period. They have found out that soy generally is an effective more antimicrobial agent than synthetic chemicals manufacturers are currently using. This study is published in the journal Biochemistry and Biophysics online edition.

According to one of the authors, “Heavy use of chemical antimicrobial agents has caused some strains of bacteria to become very resistant to them, rendering them ineffective for the most part. Soy peptides and isoflavones are biodegradable, environmentally friendly and non-toxic. The demand for new ways to combat microbes is huge, and our study suggests soy-based isoflavones and peptides could be part of the solution.”

The researchers have found out that soy peptides and isoflavones constrained growth of some bacteria, together with Listeria and Pseudomonas pathogens. The exciting thing is that peptides are a part of proteins, and can act as hormones, hormone producers or neurotransmitters. Isoflavones act as hormones and manage so much of the biological processes on the cellular level.

They remarked, “The really exciting thing about this study is that it shows promise in overcoming the issue of current antibiotics killing bacteria indiscriminately, whether they are pathogenic or beneficial. You need beneficial bacteria in your intestines to be able to properly process food.

They added, “In addition, some people are worried about the potential for long-term illnesses resulting from the use of synthetic chemicals. The use of soy peptides and isoflavones could combat bacteria and reduce these concerns. The next step is for researchers to conduct large-scale tests. We’ve created a recipe for this to go ahead. This could be very beneficial to food processors, as well as the farmers who grow soy beans.”

To know more about medical diagnosis and prevention methods, feel free to browse our other articles on this site.